


[Fandom stats] Apocalypse - how?

by toastystats (destinationtoast)



Series: Fandom Stats [72]
Category: Fandom - Fandom
Genre: Apocalypse, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Fanwork Research & Reference Guides, Meta, Nonfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-03-08
Packaged: 2019-09-19 13:24:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17002473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destinationtoast/pseuds/toastystats
Summary: A look at common types of apocalypses in fiction, over time (according to Wikipedia, as of 2015).





	[Fandom stats] Apocalypse - how?

**Author's Note:**

> Originally [posted on Tumblr](http://destinationtoast.tumblr.com/post/113098582359/toastystats-apocalypse-how-i-went-to-a-panel). Later [covered on io9](https://io9.gizmodo.com/heres-how-apocalyptic-fiction-has-changed-over-the-last-1690727744).
> 
> This should not be taken too seriously, as it's very dependent on a list on Wikipedia, which is in no way a complete list and has biases.
> 
> Note that unlike most of my analyses, this is not about fandom, but about original fiction works. Apocalypse also looms large in fandom imagination; there are lots of fanworks for some apocalyptic stories (e.g., [Mad Max](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Mad%20Max%20Series%20\(Movies\)/works), [Walking Dead](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/The%20Walking%20Dead%20\(TV\)/works)), and also many fanworks tagged ["Apocalypse"](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Apocalypse) (or subtags) across many fandoms. It would be interesting in the future to compare apocalypse in original fiction vs. fanworks, though I don't currently have a good data set for direct comparisons.

[](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNfIAP2nBhjNxva3s1oYWyv_nDghuCmNa8INN4wE96IKzjWYKtksd627_5d-6cisA/photo/AF1QipOVtAhS_LxgnDG97CcAtFOgGVGasqYJ5WdTogqa?key=UzBPVlZCQ3p1S1VnWHVkM2tDR3lQNGs2VmRBM3BR)

[](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNfIAP2nBhjNxva3s1oYWyv_nDghuCmNa8INN4wE96IKzjWYKtksd627_5d-6cisA/photo/AF1QipPSXIc6dEyMhLPowrScNSCjmrY_W_VfSYR3MP2X?key=UzBPVlZCQ3p1S1VnWHVkM2tDR3lQNGs2VmRBM3BR)

[](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNfIAP2nBhjNxva3s1oYWyv_nDghuCmNa8INN4wE96IKzjWYKtksd627_5d-6cisA/photo/AF1QipMnA0mMh7sanNnhibVWYo3okB3jiqT39OnErQkK?key=UzBPVlZCQ3p1S1VnWHVkM2tDR3lQNGs2VmRBM3BR)

I went to a panel discussion about apocalypses (and their aftermath) in fiction yesterday.  I also got curious and did some apocalyptic stats (shocking, I know ;) ).  For data, I used Wikipedia's [**List of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_apocalyptic_and_post-apocalyptic_fiction). (See the article for definitions).  It's unfortunately woefully incomplete; a lot of my faves aren't on there, especially from recent years (and you can see the drop-off in number of works per year during the 2010's in the final graph -- I totally don't believe that is accurate.  

Take this with a large grain of salt -- and please go **[add any missing books/films/shows](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_apocalyptic_and_post-apocalyptic_fiction&action=edit) **to the list on Wikipedia!  The apocalypse fandom clearly has a lot to contribute here (especially, I suspect, in terms of fiction by women, POC, and non-Western/non-English language authors), and I will be doing the same. :D

Raw data and more graphs [here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1o7GVNRgpX9WEIdqaibVvaolmimkavLBFGDIjXHZn0MI/edit?usp=sharing).

**Edit:** Thanks to [oldgrimalkin](http://tmblr.co/mq-stgU5cjl8dIzvmmibQLw) for spotting the missing zombies -- fixed!  And thanks to [fffinnagain](http://tmblr.co/muNvEQ34YsWtav2AFUPbBRg) for noting the probable language bias!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments welcome, but I’m in the middle of a massive fandom stats backup due to Tumblr purge, so I may be slow to respond.


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